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FIRST OF ALL I AM NOT A DOCToR..OK JUST TRYING TO HELP I will try and give you all the info I am able to.ok

What Is Finasteride?Finasteride (marketed under the brand names Propeciaand Proscar) is a prescription medicine that has been licensed for the following uses:

Treatment of male pattern baldness.

Treatment of enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate is also known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia, benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH.

How Does It Work?Finasteride works by blocking the conversion of testosterone into DHT (dihydrotestosterone), which decreases the amount of DHT in the body. Since DHT is important for enlargement of the prostate, using finasteride to decrease DHT levels can treat an enlarged prostate. The medication helps to shrink the prostate in most men, helping with their BPH symptoms.

DHT is also important for male pattern baldness. By decreasing the amount of DHT, the medication can help stop hair loss and regrow hair

Effectiveness for BPHThere have been several studies looking at how well finasteride treats an enlarged prostate. In particular, there has been one very large study that studied several of the effects of finasteride for men with BPH, with the following results:

Symptoms of BPHThe men in this study were asked to rate the following symptoms of BPH:

Decreased size and force of urine stream Feeling of incomplete bladder emptying when urinating Delayed or interrupted urination Having to get up to urinate frequently during the night Having to urinate frequently during the day Needing to strain or push the flow of urine.

The men who took finasteride had significant improvement in their BPH symptoms compared to the men who did not take finasteride. While some patients saw improvement right away, in general, it took about six months to see the improvement for most men. This improvement lasted throughout the entire study period (four years).

Acute Urinary RetentionThis study also looked at how many men had acute urinary retention. If an enlarged prostate is very severe, a man may not be able to urinate at all. This is known medically as acute urinary retention and usually requires catheterization (inserting a small tube through the penis into the bladder in order to empty the urine).